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Spazzergasm
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29 May 2010, 10:52 am

Can you be an INTP, but dislike crossword puzzles, mysteries, algebra, algorithms, and the like? I don't think I'm an INFP, the INTP seems to fit me except for the attraction to mathematical problems and such. I really dislike a lot of the stuff they're supposed to like, like math or mysteries. I like simple math, and respect it, but that's it. I like stuff like understanding how an engine works, or the structure of animals or something. And I like psychology. I guess you could say I'm more into softer logic? I don't really feel much desire to discover things, like finding new ways. I like seeing how things already work, and improving that or sticking to it.
Can you be an INTP and be like that? I thought I was ISFP or INFP before, but the feeliness and some other points don't seem right.



dyingofpoetry
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29 May 2010, 10:54 am

I'm an INTP and I hate math and I'm not good at it, but I love solving mysteries and playing word games... but I'm a verbal thinker.


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Moog
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29 May 2010, 12:35 pm

Yes, I'm one. INTP, can't do math. I'm also a verbal sort.


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Ferdinand
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29 May 2010, 12:42 pm

INTP?


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jagatai
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29 May 2010, 1:25 pm

Yup.

I'm very much an INTP and have a great deal of difficulty with math, algebra, trig and calc. I went through 4 years of this stuff in high school and can't remember a darned bit of it. The only thing I had any success with was geometry and I think that is because I could visualize it.

I also don't like word games or chess, but then I'm not a big fan of rules. I could be wrong, but my sense is you have to understand rules of a game or of grammar to get the most out of these sorts of games.

My preference, much like you describe of yourself, is to take things apart, figure out how they work, gain some level of skill in that area and then move on. My skills are of a more visual and tactile nature. My father (an ISTJ), who is very good with math, seems to be able to look at a formula and understand how it applies to the real world. To him, the mathematics of physics makes a lot of sense. I enjoy physics from the conceptual angle, but cannot make heads or tails of it if I look at the math.

If I had to guess what math was, it is the purest abstract description of reality. I understand and can relate to the world around me by looking at things, visualizing how they interconnect, taking them apart and feeling how one mechanism interlocks with another to create a machine. I can hold these visualizations in my head and I can think visually about these things. But even something as simple as diameter x pi to find the circumference of a circle only makes logical sense, but doesn't really help me have a more accurate concept of the world.

Mysteries don't really work for me either. Maybe I'm unlike a lot of Aspies in that what appeals to me most in a story is the subtle complexities of human interaction and emotion. But i could never get into Sherlock Homles.

I like analogies more than algorithms. I guess I understand the world better by comparing one tangible thing to another tangible thing. Abstractions like math or algorithms are too far removed from the thing itself for me to be able to hold it in my mind and compare it to the actual thing.

Lars


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Spazzergasm
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29 May 2010, 1:34 pm

Yep, that sounds like me. Did you only take online tests or not?



jagatai
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29 May 2010, 2:06 pm

I was first introduced to the Meyers-Briggs temperament tests through the book, "Please Understand Me" I repeatedly tested out as INTP with one exception where I came out as ISTP. The various descriptions of INTP seem the most consistent with how I see myself.

If you find the Meyers-Briggs temperament concept interesting, you might want to read "Psychological Types" by Carl Jung (also an INTP). This is the original work that much of Meyer's and Briggs' work grows out of. In particular, I found Jung's description of the Introverted personality fascinating. One of the things that isn't usually made clear in more modern descriptions of these psychological types is the idea that a person who introverts their intuition generally extroverts their thinking side. That is to say that one might have an intuitive understanding of the world that you keep to yourself, but you might be rather vocal and extroverted in how you deal with analytical thoughts.

There is also the issue that the words introvert and extrovert have been taken to mean, very roughly, shy or gregarious. In Jung's definition, an introverted approach interacts with external things (the object) through their own personal interpretations whereas the extroverted approach is to relate to external objects directly with little or no subjective interpretation. This gets a bit dense and I often have to go back and re-read it to clarify my understanding of what exactly he is saying, but I think it is a much clearer description of introversion and extroversion.

Lars


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29 May 2010, 2:07 pm

Everyone is different, and INTP's are no exception. Some are fond of mathematics, while others abhor it. INTP's are the ultimate logical solvers, which is the sole reason they tend to enjoy mathematics and alike. I'm an INTP myself, the description fits me perfectly, and I find mathematics very interesting. However, I do very bad at mathematics at school since I cannot concentrate properly with people around me (so many noises). At home I enjoy physics which involve mathematics a lot and it's one of my favorite hobbies.

In other words, there are no 100 % correct description of an INTP's interests and hobbies, since we are all very different. (Just like us Aspies.) However, we do share some major characteristics, which makes us INTP's.


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tonmeister
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29 May 2010, 3:00 pm

Yes, I'm a math-hating INTP. I'm a composer, and I love languages, and systems, and processes, but I was always terrible at math. A recent (formal) IQ test showed a pretty substantial gap between my verbal and non-verbal IQs, with the verbal aspect being much higher. (Unsurprising to me!) As a kid, I enjoyed science, until we got into high school and had to start applying equations to everything. It's in some ways very frustrating to me, since I love computers and always wanted to program, but programming languages tend to be more mathematical than grammatical.



liloleme
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29 May 2010, 3:07 pm

I have always had horrible difficulty with math but strangely enough, on my IQ test I scored higher in Spatial and Math than in things I thought I was good at like reading comp and things of that nature. I do tend to like patterns and I did always like geometry (the only part of math I liked). Like I love playing games like Tetris and Woobies....they relax me.
I also did that test that tells you what type of learner you are and it came out that I was a auditory and solitary learner. I always thought I was more visual and kinesthetic.



Spazzergasm
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29 May 2010, 3:33 pm

liloleme wrote:
I have always had horrible difficulty with math but strangely enough, on my IQ test I scored higher in Spatial and Math than in things I thought I was good at like reading comp and things of that nature. I do tend to like patterns and I did always like geometry (the only part of math I liked). Like I love playing games like Tetris and Woobies....they relax me.
I also did that test that tells you what type of learner you are and it came out that I was a auditory and solitary learner. I always thought I was more visual and kinesthetic.


Me too. In my IQ test there was a considerable advantage in my visual-spatial and performance sectors. Yet I'm really good at English. Which is odd, because I suck at Languages. I can't learn grammar from a book, but I'm great when it comes to doing it. I never learned Turkish well, but I can speak what I know naturally.



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29 May 2010, 4:05 pm

I'm an INTP, and I'm very bad at math, so I generally avoid doing it for fun. Other puzzles appeal to me.

There are more than sixteen individuals in the world. Therefore, there are some people who don't quite fit into their "type" on a personality test with only sixteen possible results. Don't stress about it. I like the Myers-Briggs-- I find it relatively accurate-- but I can see that it's descriptive, rather than proscriptive, and further, it's simplistic.



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29 May 2010, 4:36 pm

My dad's an INTP and his interests are history and politics. Hes ok at maths but doesnt have a big interest in it. He is interested in systems that involve people. I think it is INTJs that are more into maths and the hardcore sciences.


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MotownDangerPants
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29 May 2010, 6:34 pm

RIGHT HERE.

I took three different versions of the test multiple times(lol) and I'm definitely an INTP. I don't hate math but I don't love it, and it's not something that sticks with me. I think the love of math with INTPs may be more about loving patterns. I love patterns in other things, music, language, life in general. I see patterns everywhere.



Ichinin
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30 May 2010, 1:31 pm

Ferdinand wrote:
INTP?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator

As for the topic thread:
I am INTP and i do hate math. I do like logic though, programming and such.


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buryuntime
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30 May 2010, 1:35 pm

INTP here, and also a word person